School started last month in my district, and I felt all the feels as my social media filled with first-day photos (yes, I posted one too). It’s a momentous time of year for school-age children and their caregivers, ripe with both excitement and anxiety.

This year, though, we have even more anxiety than excitement. At back-to-school night, the PTA at my little one’s elementary school asked for a donation of $350 per student to sustain the school’s many programs. They explained that because the school district doesn’t provide funding for specialty teachers (such as science teachers and PE coaches), educational software programs, and field trip transportation, the PTA has to ask the parents for help. The PTA also supports the school library and provides classroom supplies, among other things.

Let me be clear: our PTA has always asked for donations; this is nothing new. And I too believe that parents should support school, financially or otherwise. But we’ve never been asked for so much money. When my first child started elementary school in 2018, the PTA asked for a $200 donation per student and emphasized that it was “totally optional.” $200 in 2018 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $257.17 today. But they now ask for $350 per student and tell us, “we need you more than ever.” It is clear that the school is relying on parents financially more than ever before.

As much as I am happy to support my local school, the outsized role of parent contributions in elementary school finance is a problem. Our nation’s neediest students – those facing the greatest risk for academic failure and with the greatest need for support – are disproportionately attending schools that serve large numbers of students from low-income families. Their parents are often unable to make such donations when schools are inadequately funded, which means the students can lack access to many of the academic and enrichment supports that their peers in more affluent schools or districts receive.

A contributing factor to the funding gap is the declining federal and state support. Reports from late 2024 and mid-2025 confirm that because the Trump administration has aggressively withheld formula dollars and terminated grant programs without congressional approval, federal funding as a share of district budgets has declined. This disproportionately affects high-need schools and threatens to exacerbate existing inequities.

My little one brought home a stadium cup and a bumper sticker yesterday—gifts from the PTA to parents who donated a larger amount. That was nice, but I don’t want a stadium cup or a bumper sticker. I want fully-funded schools. I want every child in this country to have the resources they deserve.